MLB highlights
By Scott Barancik, Editor Momentum is building for MLB Jews. Although only six Jewish players made it onto Opening Day rosters last month, the fewest in memory, four reinforcements have arrived: pitchers Colton Gordon (Astros), Dean Kremer (Orioles), and Jared Shuster (Cardinals), and catcher Garrett Stubbs (Phillies). Who will be the next call-up? Don’t forget to check the Jewish Box Score for in-game…
By Scott Barancik, Editor D-1 colleges have been at it for eight weeks—plenty of time to get a sense of the year’s top performers. Today, we lay it all out for you. Although the MLB season is a mere two weeks old, there’s enough news to merit an update. Mind you, it ain’t all good….
By Scott Barancik, Editor The 2026 MLB regular season debuted last night with a game featuring three Jews. It was an auspicious start to a season in which only six Jews appeared on Opening Day rosters—the lowest number in memory. Remember to check Jewish Baseball News for our Jewish Box Score, which updates in-game stats…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Backed by an error-free performance, Israel defeated the Netherlands 6-2 in World Baseball Classic action on March 10. Though the win was sweet—featuring a dramatic five-run 6th inning that erased a 2-0 deficit—both teams had already been mathematically eliminated from advancing to the next round. Israel finished the 2026 tournament with…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Baseball is coming back to life after its offseason slumber. Team Israel’s first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic is this Saturday, March 7, at 7:00pm ET against Venezuela on FS2. MLB’s regular season starts March 25. NCAA baseball began three weeks ago. Jewish ballplayers across the sport are already…
By Scott Barancik [Updated 3/3/2026] Major League Baseball, which owns the World Baseball Classic, unveiled Israel’s 2026 WBC roster on its website and social media accounts yesterday. The list of 30 players includes WBC veterans, newbies, current and former Major League players, one native-born Israeli, and a handful of ballplayers who qualify by virtue of…
By Scott Barancik Opening Day of the college baseball season is just weeks away. To mark the occasion, Jewish Baseball News (JBN) has prepared a timely update on the latest comings and goings in the D-1 landscape. Our report includes two Jewish ballplayers new to our D-1 roster, 12 transfers to new D-1 schools for…
By Scott Barancik, Editor We’ve been saving up news to share with you, dear readers. In other words, procrastinating. But Alex Bregman’s signing by the Cubs has forced our hand. Check out these highlights from the past few months. Bregman Bolts Boston Reports surfaced on the night of January 10 that the Chicago Cubs had…
(This article was updated on 1/5/2026 to include two #1-ranked prospects in the High-School Class of 2025 who we inadvertently left out of the initial publication: 1B Charlie Buckles, and LHP Austin Weiss.) A couple years ago, Jewish Baseball News began tracking high-school athletes who had officially committed to play baseball at a Division 1…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Two teams fighting for a spot in the 2025 MLB playoffs made moves just hours before the trade deadline, acquiring Jewish players they hope will boost their chances. The Philadelphia Phillies (61-47), currently second in the race for one of three National League wildcard spots, acquired outfielder Harrison Bader from the…
By Shel Wallman (Editor’s note: our original list of the top D-1 players was updated 8/5/2025 to add OF Harrison Feinberg, whom we inadvertently had omitted.) Welcome to our 2025 College All-America Team, which lists the top performers at every position among Jewish athletes playing Division 1 baseball. The squad includes 8 position players and…
By Scott Barancik, editor Welcome to the 2025 baseball season! Spring Training is well underway, and through March 3, the tally of Jews officially competing for an MLB team has reached 31. The group is nearly evenly divided between position players (16) and pitchers (11). (Updated 3/3/2025 to include Astros LHP Colton Gordon and Marlins…
Six of 18 Jews who played in MLB this season — CF Harrison Bader (Mets), 3B Alex Bregman (Astros), LHP Max Fried (Braves), RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles), RHP Max Lazar (Phillies), and C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies) — make it onto a playoff roster, but three fall out when their teams are swept in 2-game Wild Card series. See ‘Jewish Box Score’ for details (10/2/2024) Of 18 Jews…
Phillies call-up RHP Max Lazar from Triple-A (10/1/2024) Cubs call-up 1B Matt Mervis from Triple-A (10/1/2024) Yankees reassign RHP Scott Effross to Triple-A (9/29/2024) Yankees call-up RHP Scott Effross from Triple-A (9/26/2024) Pirates release 1B Rowdy Tellez (9/25/2024) Pirates designate 1B Rowdy Tellez for assignment (9/24/2024) Yankees assign RHP Harrison Cohen (High-A) to Salt River Rafters of Arizona Fall League (9/25/2024) Dodgers assign 3B Jake Gelof (High-A) to Glendale…
By Scott Barancik, editor At least 28 Jewish athletes spent time at an MLB Spring Training camp in 2024. Sixteen were there by virtue of being on a 40-man roster, five received non-roster invitations, and eight were called-up from minor-league camp. (If we discover additional call-ups, we will add them here.) Here are some highlights:…
By Scott Barancik, editor A total of 21* Jews are at an MLB Spring Training camp this season, including 10 pitchers and 12 position players (see list below). Seventeen of the 22 are there by virtue of being on their team’s 40-man roster. The remaining five, including veteran outfielder and recent free-agent signee Kevin Pillar…
By Shel Wallman (Note: Originally published on 6/16/2023, this article has been updated three times. On 6/27/2023, we added IF Hank Zeisler of the U. of Missouri and C Will King of Eastern Kentucky U. to our All-America team. On 7/12/2023, we added P Ben Simon of Elon U. to the team. On 7/16/2023, we…
